6  Less than two years ago, Dave Nichols was working as a federal fire chief in San Diego, but now he’s joined the red hot craft-brewing industry as co-owner of Barrel Harbor Brewing Co.

Barrel Harbor opened Monday in south Vista, becoming the ninth brewery in the city; four others are poised to open or are in the planning stages, city officials said.

Nichols, 50, spent 32 years in the fire service before retiring 18 months ago to pursue his dream of opening his own brewery. He partnered with a few friends — including fellow home brewer Tim St. Martin — and hired David Meadows as head brewer.

When the Barrel Harbor opened Monday in an industrial park on Pioneer Avenue, the crowd was shoulder-to-shoulder, Nichols said. Word spread mostly through social media websites, such as Facebook, and through word of mouth.

“Our first night was unbelievable,” Nichols said. “It was insane.”

Vista has welcomed the craft brewing industry, providing start-ups with cabaret licenses that allow them to have tasting rooms and offer live music.

The city has also helped promote the industry through its Rhythm & Brews Festival, organized by the Vista Village Association. (This year’s event is Oct. 5 in downtown Vista and will feature 20 breweries and five bands.)

Nichols said city officials and the other breweries in the area were very supportive of Barrel Harbor through the planning process.

“All the breweries up here work as a group; there’s no cut-throat or anybody trying to squash you,” Nichols said.

Having a cluster of breweries helps the industry because people come to visit them as part of tours stopping at several tasting rooms at a time, Nichols said.

“We’re using that to our advantage because it gets people up here,” he said.

But that’s just the first step. The way to stand out is simply to make good beer, Meadows said.

“That’s why they hired me, they knew I could make good beer right out of the gate,” he added.

Meadows spent much of his adult life in Sweden where he began working in breweries and studying the craft. He came to San Diego about six years ago to work as a consultant for Premier Stainless Systems, an Escondido company that makes brewing systems.

Barrel Harbor’s tasting room — open seven days a week — is minimally decorated in a nautical theme, with wooden barrels serving as tables and posters of maps hanging on the walls.

Nichols said he came up with the name by chance.

“I wanted a rustic, nautical name and happened to be reading a novel one day,” he said. “I saw the word barrel and arbor and thought, ‘Why not Barrel Harbor?’”

Behind the bar, there is a 10-barrel brewing system built by Premier Stainless Systems that produces a variety of beers, such as IPA, pilsner, red ale and dry stout.

Like most breweries in the city, Barrel Harbor doesn’t serve food, though food trucks are sometimes available in the industrial center to cater to patrons.

Vista’s Economic Development Director Kevin Ham said the Urge Gastropub in Rancho Bernardo is planning to open a second location in Vista, at the former Bally Total Fitness gym on Hacienda Drive,

Three other breweries, including Booze Brothers Brewing and Full Body Brewing, are being planned but are still early in the stages of development, Ham said.